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4h ago

Justice Department and FBI Disrupt North Korean IT Infiltration of U.S. Firms

The seizure of hundreds of laptops, dozens of financial accounts, fraudulent web domains cut off millions in revenue for North Korea’s weapons efforts.

This photo from the US District Court District of Massachusetts shows North Korean information technology workers on a multi-member team that the US Department of Justice says works with the North Korean government to fund its regime. Note: Parts of the image provided by the US District Court District of Massachusetts have been obscured.
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)
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Overview

  • U.S. citizen Zhenxing “Danny” Wang was arrested in New Jersey and indicted alongside Kejia Wang and four other U.S. facilitators for hosting laptop farms that enabled North Korean workers to access corporate networks.
  • Six Chinese and two Taiwanese nationals face charges of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft for helping funnel remote IT salaries to North Korea.
  • Four North Korean operatives were separately charged in Georgia for using false identities to steal at least $900,000 in cryptocurrency from a blockchain research firm.
  • FBI raids on suspected laptop farms in 14 states led to the seizure of 137 laptops, 29 financial accounts and 21 fraudulent web domains used to launder proceeds.
  • Investigators say the scheme ran from 2021 to October 2024, exploiting over 80 stolen U.S. identities to infiltrate more than 100 companies, generating over $5 million for the DPRK and causing at least $3 million in remediation costs.